Family donates organs of brain dead woman

Udupi: In a kind gesture, a woman who was declared brain dead gave a new lease of life to seven persons through organ donation at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal here.

The deceased, Nirmala Bhat, wife of Vasudev Bhat from Karkala met with an accident at Tellar road on June 22 and was admitted to KMC Manipal. She was in the ICU.

On June 25 at 12:30 pm she was declared brain dead as per the protocol stipulated by the Transplantation of Human Organ Act 1994 by four senior doctors of the medical board. There was no chance that she would recover from this condition or regain her consciousness.

The Doctor mentioned that there was no chance that Nirmala Bhat would recover from this condition or regain her consciousness and her breathing was supported by the ventilator so as to harvest organs for transplantation namely two heart valves, both corneas, kidneys and the liver. Vasudev Bhat and the family based on decision of the board declaring her brain dead, expressed their willingness to donate her organs.

As decided by the Transplantation Authority, corneas and one kidney would be provided to patients admitted in Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. The liver harvested by surgeons from BGS Hospital, Bengaluru for the identified patient would be airlifted by helicopter from Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. Two heart valves would be used on a patient from Bengaluru, and one kidney for a patient in Mangaluru.

Dr Avinash Shetty, medical superintendent of the hospital said, “With this noble gesture of the family of Nirmala Bhat, 7 needy patients would receive extension of their lives through transplantation.”